


Highlight

by Averia



Series: Score [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Family, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-21
Updated: 2015-09-21
Packaged: 2018-04-22 19:13:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4847048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Averia/pseuds/Averia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Is it not impolite to hide nightly visitors, Master Richard?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Highlight

Alfred Pennyworth was one of the few people that regarded Batman and his allies a real family, most would never entitle them as such but deep down Alfred knew them like no other. Without being a family, they would never have become as strong. Their bonds were the reason why they were able to come out on top after every conflict. No matter how broken or battered those bonds where a tear-proof string was always attached. 

They might be one of _those_ families. They might sometimes hate each other, fight each other, hurt each other but they would always have each other’s back. It was the only way to survive Gotham.

Alfred was fond of the memories with the old Wayne family when it had been only Martha, Thomas and Bruce but he loved his new family even more. He truly belonged, had found his place in its dynamic as more than just the butler even if he always tried to keep the charade. The endearment _Alfie_ had been one of many to make him realize that he was only lying to himself.   

Rays of sunshine and a draught greeted him when he opened the door to the master bedroom. It should have been his first reason to assume something could be wrong but Alfred simply concluded that Bruce had not been able to sleep. 

His charge was known for loving silence but the man of few words actually liked the low and faint noises of the night. Ever since he had overcome his fear of the dark, he had liked to sleep with open windows. It was something that Richard and Jason were even more fond of than him. They loved hearing cars drive by and the voices of people on the streets, even hearing the late night shows through thin walls was something that lulled them to sleep rather than keep them awake. 

Tim and Damian were different, they liked silence best.

His gaze fell onto the bed were two sleeping figures lay and this finally made him pause. Bruce had not said anything about visitors and their alarm had not been triggered either. He could only see a slender figure and raven hair. It was an easy conclusion Selina Kyle had come for one of their escapades; after all, she could have made it easily into the manor undetected if Bruce had no problem with it. It would certainly explain the open windows.

With a slight smile, he made his way over to the nightstand. Perhaps Bruce had finally found the solace and love through Selina he had been unable to find with Talia. Even the _children_ approved of Selina most of the time, excluding Damian of course. Standing in front of the nightstand he looked at the embraced figure and realized that he had been mistaken. The presumed woman was a man. Alfred nearly gaped and could not take his eyes from the sleeping figure for a moment. He had never known that Bruce was interested in the same gender and he took pride in knowing  _everything_ regarding his charge.

It really did bewilder him so greatly for a moment that he had to blink a few times but a smile was back on his face even before the revelation had fully settled. Surprises in his age were a pleasant occurrence at least if they had nothing to do with vigilantism. Those surprises tended to be bad after all, mostly too bad for his heart while this seemed rather healthy.

Bruce looked far more relaxed than the last few days. Alfred would even go as far as to describe it as peaceful. He knew how many nightmares Bruce still had and that the constant work was taking a toll on him. Every person being able to make the frown disappear was good for him. Talia had never been such a person. She had only increased it. It had been the first of many indications that she had not been the right choice. 

But when the person shifted in Bruce strong embrace the plate in his hands nearly clattered to the ground. He could not believe his eyes when he recognized Richard. 

Alfred held his breath when the young man’s eyelids fluttered but they thankfully did not open. He watched a small smile appear on his face when Bruce tightened his hold, pressing him against his chest as if he never wanted to let go again.

Alfred silently but briskly walked out of the master bedroom. The tea nearly cluttered to the ground before he could place the plate on the counter.

Halting in the kitchen to breathe through, he wondered if he had left any indication that he had been in the room. He could not even decide if he wanted them to know he had seen them or not. An explanation was what he wanted but he feared it too. He still did not want to believe his eyes.

Shaking his head he started to prepare breakfast nearly frantic before he could start asking himself all those questions he would not have an answer to.

He placed the pan on the stove and started to mix the ingredients for the pancakes together and gave the mix into the pan, waiting. Why had their relationship developed to this? How long had it been going on? Did somebody know about this? _What was their relationship?_

He sighed and turned them, burning them would not do any good. How long had they harbored feelings for each other? When had it started? Why had he not noticed?

His fist hit the sink with a dull sound.

“Alfred.”

His name was only a murmur but he had heard it and tensed, then he turned around slowly, composed. Richard looked at him, concern swimming in the blue eyes. Alfred’s own skimmed over the young man searching for the damage he had not seen before, for something that would show him better what this was about. He realized he still held onto the hope of their nightly affair being exclusively platonic like they had been all those years ago when Dick had only been a child with too many nightmares until his eyes focused on a nearly hidden bruise. Love bite, his brain corrected instantly and he linked his hands behind his back to refrain from any gesture that could betray him. 

“Is everything alright?” Richard asked and Alfred was glad that they did not know. Richard was only worried because he had hit the sink, a dumb move on his part. He appeased him with a smile and a lie.

Bruce came down not long after as if nothing had been as if they had not slept in the same bed only minutes ago.

Alfred kept silent about his troubled thoughts but he still tried to keep an eye on them. There had to be a reason why he had not seen any indication before. He wondered if anyone else already knew about them but dismissed the idea. All of them would have come to him with their suspicion like they always did.

Watching them from the sidelines only indicated that Richard's smile turned more content the second it was given to Bruce and that the hidden frustration for each other had vanished to a faint trace. But they did not look at each other more, did not talk more nor did they touch each other until Bruce stood up. 

It was only because he came back out of the kitchen that he saw the short brush of Bruce’s fingers against Richard’s neck when the man walked by.

“I’ll be with Lucius until afternoon,” Bruce explained as a short goodbye and then Alfred was left alone with the young man he nearly considered his own child, who was looking after Bruce for a moment too long.

“Is it not impolite to hide nightly visitors, Master Richard?” he asked, pointedly looking at the dark spot when they cleaned the dishes. Richard’s eyes widened. A hand clamped over the mark on his neck.

“Oh, I did not realize,” he chuckled awkwardly, a light blushing spreading over his cheeks. Alfred raised an eyebrow but carried on with his task. He could nearly feel his sudden nervousness.

“She left earlier,” Richard mumbled finally but he was speaking more to the floor than him. The young man took the dishes out of his hands to dry them and Alfred did not carry on, an interrogation was not what he wanted. Not really. If anyone he would question Bruce just to ask him what the hell he was doing.

The day carried on calmly, Damian had finally come to the conclusion that going out on the streets with Colin would not be a bad idea and Richard had said his goodbye for a meet up with Wally. 

He used the silent hours to clean the manor and his spare time to buy a few things in the supermarket.

The thought of Bruce and Richard did not leave him alone over the day. It was hard to accept and Alfred did not exactly know why. Bruce would never have pressured Richard into something and neither the other way around. The older memories of a relationship that seemed more like father and son were making it hard to accept. But he could not deny the constant devotion they had shown for each other over the years, even when their relationship had been strained, they had always shared a deeper link.

Bruce sat in the armchair when Alfred came back and he was watching the fire with an intense look, it looked as if it was only burning because he willed it to.

“You know,” was all Bruce said before he could disappear into the kitchen with his purchase and Alfred turned around slowly. Bruce was still staring at the flames.

“I was supposed to wake you up this morning, Master Bruce.” 

He watched him close his eyes defeated.

“You do not approve.”

Alfred frowned. His first charge looked older than he had even those last days and decades older than this morning when he had curled around his former ward as if to protect him from the world.

“I have to say it surprised me. Still, it is no reason to deny the love I have seen.”

The long gaze Richard had sent after Bruce and the peacefulness were not born out of force or violence it was too pure to be associated with anything but love. Bruce finally looked up, his eyes searching.

“You can ask me anything now but I would prefer waiting for Dick.”

Alfred nodded and went back to his bags to start preparing dinner. Bruce sat there for a while, fists clenched, and then he silently disappeared to his workspace.

It took three hours before Dick came back like a breath of fresh air. He had a smile on his face and was shortly updating him on Linda and Wally. Alfred could see the softness in his eyes and the slight quirk of his lips, knowing that while Richard was genuinely happy for them, he was probably thinking about someone completely different. He felt as if he was invading their space simply by knowing.   

“Master Bruce and I would like to speak with you,” said Alfred and it was the only reason why Alfred allowed him to steal one of the carrots. The young man looked surprised but nodded, a frown building on his lips.

“Did he say what it was about?” asked Dick nibbling nervously on the carrot, looking out of the window, the dreamy expression wiped off his face. 

“It is nothing bad, Master Richard. I give you my word” he replied and settled one hand on his shoulder. Dick stared at him, his face going pale.

“You know.”

It was anxiety, rapidly bubbling to the surface of his face and Alfred would have wondered how Richard had come to the conclusion if he had not been so worried.

“I will not force you to break up,” he said because it was the only comfort he could give the panicking man in front of him. Richard shook his head, taking a step back.

“I know you won’t but Bruce,” Richard nervously licked his lips, “You know how he is. The only reason he did not push me away was because no one knew.”

His teeth were clenched and he was clearly more worried about the whole thing than Alfred had thought.

“He will not feel any different towards you simply because I know, Master Richard,” he said chidingly.  

The younger man stilled in front of him as if the words needed time to sink in and then he sighed, one hand driving through his hair.

“I am sorry. I am just afraid that this will turn out like the first few weeks,” said Richard and he drove his fingers through his hair again, “You know how he is with self-hate and it was the Self-Hate Extraordinary Exclusive Edition.”   

Alfred raised an eyebrow at the description but it was clearly a sign of calming down.

“I know more people that need to stop with the self-hate.”

Richard let out a laugh and then they headed upwards. Bruce did not move from his place by the desk when they entered and Richard hesitated in the door. They still leaned and faced into each other’s direction as if gravity pulled them together and for a short moment Alfred amused himself through the thought that they would simply fall over if he waited long enough.

“Don’t restrain yourself on my behalf.”

Richard actually relaxed at that and stepped forward until Bruce could curl one arm around his waist. Bruce pressed a short kiss on his lips and it seemed as if the whole anxiety had been whipped away. For a moment it even looked as if they had forgotten his existence altogether. Then they focused back on him, nearly demanding and he could not bring one question to his lips. Why should he force them to defend their relationship if they were obviously happy? Was their love really immoral? Did it even matter? It was love after all and neither of them seemed to be harmed by it.

“I know most of us try to refrain from using the word love but I still know what it means. There is nothing for me to ask or inquire as long as you bring each other happiness. I would simply like to make the suggestion to reveal your relationship. You have no reason to hide.”

Bruce stared at him for a moment as if he could not believe those words and then finally the tension fell from his shoulders.

“Thank you, Alfred.”

Richard smiled into his lover’s chest, both arms were thrown around his middle while Bruce automatically held him closer. Perhaps he had not intruded their world but actually made it better. He chuckled at the thought, knowing that he had really been worth his penny. 

He left them to finish dinner because an old man like him could only deal so much with young love and he was sure they still needed some time alone after the early morning.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I read this post about which signs write which fanfictions and they are right, Scorpios clearly can't write anything without at least a bit of angst.


End file.
